St Philomena Early Learning Center

3300 Ala Laulani Street

Honolulu, HI 96818

11 Reviews

School District
Grade

K
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by parent on October 26, 2013

This was not our first choice preschool, so we have been surprised with how much we like SPELC. The main teachers are great and their assistants are very caring. My children are always learning beneficial skills and knowledge and it's amazing how much parent involvement there is during activities. The principal is new and not as talkative as her predecessor. She seems nice but since I don't know her I only gave her 3 stars.
Submitted by parent on May 22, 2013

Both my daughters attend this school and we love it. I have to agree with a previous comment that most of the teachers have Filipino accents. I too was a little put off by this, even though I myself am Filipino (but no accent). :P However, both daughters speak well and my 2 year old is already speaking in complete sentences. So the Filipino accents of their teachers make absolutely no difference. :) My older daughter (5) already knows how to spell/read several sight words as well. All the staff know both my daughters by name...even though their classrooms are on opposite sides of the school. It makes the school environment feel so inviting. The lunch provided is also really good. It's prepared in their cafeteria by their cook. Occasionally lunch is really simple (i.e. vienna sausages), but I've been lucky to try the beef stew and chicken mushroom when I ate lunch with the class after chaperoning a field trip. And as a previous comment stated, yes they do get ice pops once in a while as a treat when it's hot. But it is never their main snack! Absolutely love this school! I wish they went all the way up to 6th grade or higher!
Submitted by parent on March 07, 2013

My daughter goes here and we absolutely love this school! We were a little apprehensive about it when we met the teachers and the majority of them have accents. We thought she would pick up on their accents also! But she hasn't and the amount of love and attention she receives from all of the instructors is amazing. The communication from the teachers to the parents is great and the academics are top notch. My daughter knows much more body parts, alphabets, songs, etc than any other 2 year old I know. Her socialization abilities and cooperation with other children are very advanced for her age as well. I highly recommend St. Philomena's!
Submitted by parent on February 12, 2012

I like this school but they need to have an afternoon program. The teachers are friendly and the kids seem happy.
Submitted by parent on June 06, 2011

The way of teaching is fantastic, my child always gets compliments on how advanced she seems for her age. I cant take credit for it, it is from the teachers and the schools structure. They are great and expect their children to succeed. The only thing I absolutely hate is the fact that their tuition raises every year. It is now nearly $900 per month for each child full day. It is very hard to keep up with but I refuse to move her because the we love the school and the stress of "changing" schools can be rough on her.
Submitted by parent on July 28, 2010

My son attened St. Philomena for two years and the only thing I regret is not having found them sooner. The facility, staff, teachers, education curriculum and activities provided by this center had met my approval and exceeded my expectations. In his last year we we're blessed to have Miss LaiYin as his mentor, she truly projects the mission of their organization. The montessori based studies is such a valuable part in the development of the children to prosper solely and as a group. My son, now in the third grade has been awarded many certificates and achievements and at every parent/teahcer conference I hear this "he is always offering to help, he is respectful and anxious to learn" ... I am positive that this is a huge peice that my son has taken from St. Philomena's Early Learning Center.
Submitted by parent on July 27, 2010

St. Philomena's was our children's preschool. They received a Fantastic foundation there. They attended from 2.5 years old until they were 4.5 years old. They are triplets (two girls and a boy). During these two years my husband was assigned to a submarine out of Pearl Harbor and our lives were far from normal. St Philomena's and their amazing staff (office, aides and of course teachers) were the consistency they/we needed during this time. They excelled socially, academically and spiritually. We were thrilled that we found them. The Montessori based preschool program is excellent. It has both the structure needed at this age plus the room to grow individually. Their teacher clearly put our children's needs first and was great at helping us grow as parents as well.
Submitted by parent on July 15, 2010

Most of the staff at St. Philomena are nice and friendly. I just have one problem with one of the teachers who treats students, parents, and staff like dirt. I am fortunate to not have my child in this teachers class because I have overheard her cutdown some of the aides at the school. I don't know what her problem is but she needs to shape up and stop treating everyone like dirt.
Submitted by other on June 25, 2010

St. Philomena is an amazing school. I attended this school as a pre-school student and loved it amensly. I am preparing to apply to great colleges including Georgetown, NYU, Brown University, Princeton, Columbia, and Yale hopefull to get scholarships. This was my first school and set the base of my educational career.
Submitted by parent on May 13, 2010

The food is not nutritional for breakfast lunch or snacks. High fructose corn syrup is the main ingredient in their everyday snack (ice pop). The toddler program might fit some kids, but it's very structured and doesn't fit my kid. He's unhappy there.
Submitted by parent on May 13, 2010

The 15 month old class is very structured and not geared towards young toddlers, feels more like kindergarten. My kid was very unhappy there. The food is not very nutritional. The ice pops is their main snack and has high fructose corn syrup as the main ingredient!